Habitat Enhancements for Wildlife and Landowners -
the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) for 2007

By Timothy Dunne
NRCS Resource Conservationist
September, 2006

Do you own or manage non-federal lands in New Jersey? Are you
interested in enhancing these lands for local wildlife species?
Then the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) may
be perfect for you. With the application period for 2007 WHIP
funding closing in late October, you'll want to learn what this
program has to offer and determine your eligibility soon.

WHIP is part of the US
Department of Agriculture's Farm Bill. Through WHIP, qualified
landowners can receive technical and financial assistance for
creating, enhancing and maintaining wildlife habitat on non-federal
lands. The Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers WHIP.
Local NRCS soil conservationists at NRCS's six field offices,
and regional biologists in northern and southern New Jersey,
are available to work with interested landowners to develop
and implement management plans for the property they manage.

Hunterdon
County farmer John DeGeranimo seeding native grasses in Readington
Township as part of a Federal-State-Township-Pheasants Forever
cooperative WHIP project in spring 2006.Click
to enlarge

Since
1998 WHIP has provided New Jersey landowners with more than $3 million
in financial assistance as well as valuable technical assistance from
NRCS biologists and conservationists. In addition biological assistance
is available to landowners from partners like the NJ Division of Fish
& Wildlife.

Mixed
stand of switchgrass, indiangrass and bluestem provides important
winter wildlife cover. Stand was established under a WHIP agreement
on Beaver Brook WMA in Warren County.Click
to enlarge

In
2006 alone, thirty contracts totaling $780,000 were awarded to
individual landowners. In addition NRCS established five cooperative
agreements with conservation organizations. Through these cooperative
agreements, NRCS will contribute $540,000 toward activities that
will enhance over 3,223 acres of grassland, riparian lands, and
other habitat throughout New Jersey.

The Division of Fish and Wildlife was the recipient of one of
the cooperative agreements with NRCS in 2006. The primary focus
of that agreement is to create, enhance or maintain early successional
habitats, such as grasslands, on state wildlife management areas
(WMA's) throughout New Jersey.

If
you hunt, fish, hike or go birding on state
WMA's you may have already seen some of the work being accomplished.
Overgrown multiflora rose fields have been brush hogged. Native
grasses such as switchgrass, indiangrass and bluestem have been
planted. Prescribed burning has taken place on some native grass
fields.

Private
lands are also a primary target of WHIP efforts in New Jersey and
individual landowners and hunting clubs have also received financial
and technical assistance. Projects such as habitat enhancements for
the federally threatened bog turtle, control of invasive exotic plant
species, stream restoration and grassland management have all been
accomplished on thousands of acres of private lands since WHIP's inception
in 1998. Cooperative projects continue to increase with help from
non-governmental groups such as Pheasants
Forever and Trout
Unlimited.

After meeting with New Jersey wildlife agencies and organizations
in June 2006, and reviewing the state's Wildlife
Action Plan, NRCS updated the WHIP State Plan. Included in the
new state plan are five focal areas for wildlife habitat enhancements
under WHIP in New Jersey:

The
Delaware Bay Priority Area – Counties of Cape May, Cumberland and
Salem

Early
Successional Habitat

Wetland
Habitat

Disturbance-Dependant
Habitat

Bog
Turtle Habitat

The
application period for WHIP 2007 will close on October 27, 2006.
NRCS is attempting to streamline the sometimes difficult process of
planning, ranking, and contracting with this deadline in October in
order to facilitate habitat management project starts in early spring
2007.

If
you have a habitat enhancement project in mind, contact your local
NRCS office. serving your county:

The
Pursel Mill Dam removal WHIP project in Warren County, completed
in 2006, benefited local wild trout, migratory American eels
and local anglers as well. Trout
Unlimited and the NJ DFW were important partners along with
other federal, state and private groups and individuals.Click
to enlarge